BEIJING — Vice-Premier Liu He has called on the country’s transport authorities to work to ensure safety and efficiency during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush season starting on Jan 21.

Liu made the remarks on Jan 20 while inspecting the preparatory work for holiday travels in Beijing. He said that heavy traffic and potentially bad weather during the holiday travel season would require transport authorities to step up organization, leadership and enhance coordination for achieving a success of the tasks in Spring Festival travel rush season.

“Top priority must always be given to transport safety and it is important to step up safety supervision and emergency management,” stressed Liu. He also emphasized the importance of increasing investment in transport infrastructure and intensifying efforts to ensure different modes of travel are better-connected.

In accordance with the lunar Chinese calendar, 2019 will be the Year of the Pig, which will begin on Feb 5.

The Chinese are expected to make 3 billion trips from Jan 21 to March 1 as hundreds of millions of the people in the country return to their hometowns for family reunions and to celebrate the lunar Chinese New Year.